Why “pataphysics” is a great word
PATAPHYSICS — [Noun] An absurdist philosophy or pseudoscience, invented by Alfred Jarry, that parodies scientific reasoning by studying imaginary solutions and phenomena beyond metaphysics. From French pataphysique, coined by Alfred Jarry c. 1911 as a punning contraction of the Greek phrase ἔπι (μετὰ τὰ φυσικά) (epi (meta ta physika)), meaning 'that which is above (or beyond) metaphysics,' alluding to Aristotle's work. Unlike metaphysics, a serious inquiry into first principles, or nonsense, which is merely incoherent, pataphysics is a structured parody, a rigorously logical system devoted to the logic of the illogical. It is the science of the unique exception, the calculation of the surface area of God, and the treatise on a door that is both ajar and shut—a solemn, playful rebellion against a universe that insists on making sense.